Smitty

OTTAWA — TekSavvy Solutions Inc. has lodged a complaint with the CRTC, saying that critical statistical information compiled by the federal telecommunications regulator was omitted from last year’s edition of an annual industry report.The Ontario-based independent internet provider (ISP) says that the CRTC’s omission of the information makes it more difficult for companies such as TekSavvy as they compete with industry giants, particularly Bell Canada.A spokeswoman for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission says it’s reviewing TekSavvy’s complaint. Customer complaints against Canadian telecom, TV providers soar 57% in 2017-18: report Why indie internet provider TekSavvy is building its own fibre network for the first time William Watson: ‘Managed competition’ in Canadian dairy, cannabis and telecom isn’t actually competition TekSavvy says the 2018 Communications Monitoring Report issued Dec. 20 didn’t follow the CRTC’s usual practices for reporting items such as consumer appetite for faster internet, capital spending by independent ISPs and their market share.TekSavvy and its peers have been trying for years to get the CRTC to make it easier for wholesale internet resellers like them to offer higher-speed internet service to their customers, who are also potential customers of the big players.Andy Kaplan-Myrth, TekSavvy’s vice-president for regulatory affairs, says industry data normally available in December would have helped independent ISPs make their case at CRTC hearings in December and January.Previous CRTC decisions have effectively allowed Bell Canada and other major phone companies to limit their wholesale customers like TekSavvy from offering residential services above 50 megabits per second.read more